Many times it is desirable to employ a hand-held device having an igniting or flame-bearing portion that is disposed at a distance from the hand of the user. Such devices are useful, for example, for lighting the pilots of gas-fired appliances that are found in camping vehicles and for lighting campfires.
One such known device employs a butane fuel source and a battery-powered glow plug disposed at a distance from the handle of the device for igniting the fuel. A disadvantage of these devices is that the batteries are often overlooked and expire after long periods of nonuse and sometimes corrode, thereby rendering the device inoperative at a time when it is most needed.
Other devices known for the purpose employ a very long body section in which is mounted a disposable canister of butane or similar gas under pressure. The disadvantages of these devices are that they are costly and one must have a back-up supply of the specially designed fuel canisters; such canisters are usually not readily commerically available but are obtainable only from the manufacturer and are usually more costly than the readily available disposable lighters.
Another known device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,398, this being essentially a holding device that holds a disposable-type lighter at a distance away from the hand of the user. This device has the disadvantage that it must be used with a type of lighter that remains in an "on" condition. Most of the inexpensive disposable-type lighters are in the normally "off" position and fuel will escape only when an actuating arm or lever is held by the user in an open position.